DEVELOPMENT 2

A new game in town

By Sam Pfeifle

It seems no Portland neighborhood is safe from development, even those off of the peninsula. Planned construction at 244 Veranda Street, which would take an existing home and expand it into a three-unit structure — blocking the ocean views of some six homes — has lead to some organizing in the “Ocean View Park” neighborhood.

Home-owner Tilly Holton, along with some of her neighbors, has begun the process of gathering her fellow residents into a neighborhood association “to help protect the character of ‘Ocean View Park.’ ”

“The construction at 244 Veranda Street was a wake-up call to some of us,” says Holton. “We had no idea such a structure was possible in our zone, and so we came to the realization that we needed to be more involved.” The peninsula contains roughly 70 homes, and Holton says she hopes to involve everyone, but feels “fortunate to have about 15 percent of homes represented so far.”

“We have a large diversity of homes in our zone and we do not wish to prevent owners from improving their properties,” says Holton. “Our primary objective is to preserve the character of our older homes. However, we believe the Veranda Street house is an example of why there should be limits, and why neighbors should be notified of such projects. There should be greater neighborhood involvement in planning issues, which I am glad to hear is a priority at City Hall.”

Holton emphasizes that families are moving to the suburbs and Portland needs to keep them in the city to preserve its character. “I am all for redeveloping run-down areas and parking lots,” she says, “but I think our existing single-family neighborhoods need to be protected so that we can encourage families to stay in Portland.”

Though the zoning issue will be high on the agenda for the group’s first meeting, which will be “probably in a couple of weeks,” they also plan on addressing traffic speed on Veranda Street, right of way to the water, and an annual neighborhood get-together.